Bare Hearts (16 page)

“Me too. I miss her so damn much.”

“We’ll have you fixed up in no time,” my aunt says, changing the subject.

I sit on the stool in front of my mom’s makeup mirror. Aunt Becca starts on my hair first and I ruffle through my mom’s jewelry. I decide to wear a plain gold necklace of my mom’s; I also slide on a few of her gold bracelet bangles and small hoop earrings to finish the touch. My aunt continues twisting and teasing my hair.

“There, all done. How do you like it?” Aunt Becca asks, putting on the finishing touches.

She hands me a mirror so I can see the back in the mirror in front of me. The back is pinned into an intricate braid from the top of one side cascading down the other side. The look is very me, simple and not too fancy.

“Wow, I love it so much. Thanks!” I turn around and hug her.

“You’re welcome, now let’s do something with this gorgeous face,” she says.

I watch as my aunt uses her magic as she proceeds to spread a powder foundation on my face, spreading it all around with a sponge. She lightly sweeps my cheeks with a light pink blush, and she insists on fierce red lipstick.

“See? Gorgeous!” She says, pointing at my reflection in the mirror.

“Wow, I can’t believe it’s really me. Thank you so much for helping me get ready,” I squeeze her tightly in a hug.

“Anything for my Lily,” she says, holding my face in her hands gently. “You’re all grown up.” She releases me and swipes at the tear that had escaped her eye. “Now go put that dress on.”

I take the dress and unzip the cover, and slide it on carefully so I don’t mess my face up. The dress hits right above the knee with a full skirt and fitted bodice with a plunging neckline. Molly ended up giving me the heels I borrowed from her. I slip them on, and the look is complete with the gold jewelry I put on.

I enter the room, and my aunt is speechless as she brings her hands to her mouth. “You look absolutely stunning. Parker is going to die when he sees you,” she says happily.

Is this finally my fairytale? It feels like a dream,
I think to myself as I admire the dress in the mirror.

“Your aunt’s right; you look stunning. You are taking my breath away,” he says, leaning in the doorway.

“Parker, how long have you been standing there?” I ask as he suddenly appeared.

“Long enough,’ he said with a smile “Are you ready for today?”

“Yes. And you look very handsome yourself,” I tell him, pulling his tie and bringing him close into me to kiss him. He has on a pair of black slacks and a light green dress shirt to match my emerald green dress.

He wraps his hands around my waist, bringing me even closer to him.

“Now, if you two love birds will excuse me,” my aunt says, making her way out of the room.

Parker and I both laugh at her and unlock ourselves from each other.

“So, where have you been all day?” I ask with my arms still wrapped around his neck.

I watch as he pulls a box out of his pocket. “I went to my house, looking for this. I was wondering if you’d like to wear it?” He opens the box, and inside is the most beautiful princess cut diamond ring with smaller diamonds on each side.

“Oh wow, it’s so beautiful. I would be honored to wear it,” I say with joy as he slides the ring on my ring finger. “It’s a perfect fit.” I hold my hand out to admire it as it adorns my finger. “Thank you so much. I love it,” I continue to say.

“I know my mom would have loved you as much as I do, and I know she would be so happy for us,” he says.

Grabbing my bag, packed with as many memories as I can take, as well as what Parker packed when he went home, we rush downstairs to show my ring to my aunt and take a few minutes to gush over it.

“Let’s get a move on it you two,” my aunt says, rushing us out the door.

“You guys go on ahead; I’ll be out in a minute,” I tell them.

Once they leave, I take my time going through each room. This house is special; it was just me and Mom. Upon exiting each room, I linger, giving it one last look. I only hope the next owners enjoy it and make as many memories as we did.

Chapter Twenty-Four

I can’t believe Lily and I will be married in a few short hours. My dream is actually coming true. The girl of my dreams is about to marry
me.
I set up the appointment with the justice of the peace; all we need to do is fill out the marriage license

However, this is not how I pictured us getting married. I know just being married is enough for her. I wish I could give her a big fancy wedding, but that is not in our cards. Nothing about our relationship is normal.

“Are you ready to marry your niece off?” I ask Aunt Becca.

“Yes, I know she’s in good hands. Plus, if you hurt her, I’ll cut your nuts!”

“Aunt Becca, I can’t believe you just said that!” Lily says with a shocked tone.

“Well, get used to it. I know he would never hurt you, anyway,” she says nonchalantly. I can’t help but smile.

We quietly walk outside, giving Lily a moment alone in the house she grew up in most of her life. I can only imagine how she is feeling, leaving all those memories behind. I put her bag in the trunk as we wait for her. We will be starting our new life soon, perhaps starting our own family even.

Lily finally joins us in the car. “All set?”

“Yep. Let’s blow this joint,” she says, trying to act happy. I know deep down that it hurts her to leave her home.

I put a hand on her knee and I drive us to the courthouse. She slides her hand on mine and flashes me a wink.

“You ready for this new adventure?” She asks turning in her seat to look at her aunt.

“I’m really excited, and I don’t know why.”

For the rest of the ride everyone is quiet until we pull up to the courthouse. I grab Lily’s hand while her aunt trails behind us. We approach the clerk to get our marriage license. The lady behind the counter asks us a few questions and then approves it. Now we just have to wait our turn. The butterflies are fluttering around in my stomach as we take a seat on the bench.

“This bench is hard on the ass.”

Lily laughs at my comment. “You just couldn’t resist, could you?” She shakes her head, laughing. “I’m so glad we are doing this. You make me so happy. It’s the first day of our future.”

I tilt her head down to kiss her nose, when I hear our name is called. We immediately stand to enter the room. We are instructed to face each other so we can say our vows. Aunt Becca stands off to the side, watching us with a huge smile planted across her face.

“What are your intentions for each other?” The judge asks.

“I will love you ‘til the end of time. I want to have a family with you and grow old with you. No matter what, know that I love you forever and always. I will be there to protect and provide for you. I could have not asked for a better person to spend my life with,” I say to her as we hold hands.

“Wow, how can I top that? You came into my life at the most un-expected time. I wasn’t looking for love, and BAM there you were. I thank God for you every day. You came right in and completely swept me off my feet. I willingly gave you my heart and you managed to keep it in one piece. I will be the best wife I can be and will treasure all our moments together. And ditto on everything you said,” she tells me with a twinkle in her eye.

Her words leave me speechless and she takes my breath away.
How did I get so damn lucky?
I think to myself.

“I now pronounce you husband and wife,” the justice of the peace declares.

We hear crying and sniffling in the corner, and it’s Aunt Becca wiping her tears with a tissue.

We laugh, kiss, and then fill out some remaining paperwork and pay a small fee.

“We’ll how’s it feel to be Lily Cambridge?” I ask, putting my arm around her shoulder as we walk back to the car.

“It feels fucking amazing!” She yells once we’re outside.

“One more stop, then we will be starting our new life together,” I say as we enter the car.

“I’m just so happy for you two. Starting a new life together with no interferences will be a beautiful thing.”

We arrive at the police station one last time and my stomach is twisting in knots, knowing we will no longer be who we once were. I mean, we will remain the same just with new names and a new place to live, possibly out of state. I grip her hand and we walk together into the station, and we are greeted by the same officer as before.

“So nice to see you all. Follow me,” he nods, motioning for us to follow him to the conference room.

With her hand entwined with mine, her aunt following close behind, I turn back and can see the nervousness on her face.
This shit just got real
.

Another man approaches us as we enter a conference room. “I have all your ID’s in my hand. It’s important you know your names and where you’re from. I’ve even doctored up a resume for each of you so you can get a job. You can’t have any contact with anyone from your past. It’s imperative that you honor that request, because it could get you into serious trouble if you don’t. Other than that, this should be a fairly easy transition for you,” he instructs.

“Where are we going exactly?” Lily asks.

“You’ll be going out west to Colorado. I know it’s a lot to process, but you will have everything you need,” he says in a serious tone.

“You will need a less flashy car, so we will be providing you with a more suitable one,” he says, pointing at me.

“Sounds good,” I say, giving Lily a smile.

“We have plane tickets for all three of you. The sooner we can get you into your new identities the better; less of a chance for Tony’s people to get to you. You will also be set up in a house, so no need to worry about that. Do you have any questions?” The detective asks.

“We were married this morning. Can we get our identities with matching last names?” Lily asks.

“Congratulations. Yes, we can arrange that. If there is nothing else, I’ll go get everything together,” he says, leaving the room with the officer.

“Wow, we are moving out west. It’s official,” Lily says, turning to me.

“Okay, we’re all set; here are your new identity cards, driver’s licenses, and everything you will need. And you have a car at the airport when you land; it’s a Camry,” he says, handing me the keys. He hands each of us our new driver’s license and everything else we need.

“I appreciate everything you’ve done,” I say, shaking his hand as we exit the room.

“Best wishes on your marriage. It was a pleasure meeting you all.” He nods.

Outside, we head to the Camaro. Inside the car, I take out all the paperwork

“So, what’s your new names?” I ask, looking at Lily and Aunt Becca as we sit inside the car. “Mine is Luke Chambers,” I tell them.

“Mine is Emily Chambers,” Lily says, looking up from her license.

“Mine says Vivienne Links, blah,” she says like she has a bad taste in her mouth. “I don’t like it one bit,” she says, shaking her head.

“It’s fine, Aunt Becca,” Lily says with a laugh.

We make to drive to the airport and everyone is fairly quiet. Traffic is a breeze and we make it there in no time. We park in a lot and grab our bags while we make our way through the airport. I grab Aunt Becca’s bags as well.

“I’ve never been on a plane,” Lily says.

“Really?” I ask.

“Yes, and I’m kind of freaking out. You know how I am,” she says, backing away to the opposite direction.

I put the bags down and put a hand on each of her arms, and I look right into her eyes. “It will be fine; I promise. It’s not fast, like a roller coaster. I promise you will be okay.” I try to comfort her while she has her mini meltdown.

“I know; it’s just so scary. But I trust you,” she says, taking a deep breath.

Finally, we manage to make it to the ticket counter to confirm our seats.

“Here you go, sir; take a seat and you will be able to board soon,” the lady says behind the counter. Lily and Aunt Becca follow suit and we all take a seat, waiting for the plane to be ready to board.

Lily watches out the window as the planes come in. “You’ll be fine, Sweetie,” Aunt Becca says, reassuring her.

“I know. This is all happening so fast,” she says, giving her aunt a weak smile. I put my arm around her to comfort her fears. I’ve been on a plane twice in my life.

“We are now boarding for Colorado Springs,” a voice says over the intercom.

“That’s us,” I say, standing up and grabbing the bags.

We walk to the boarding terminal and hand over our tickets, one by one.

Chapter Twenty-Five

The thought of getting on the plane is freaking me out more and more. Even though Parker assured me everything will be okay I believe him, I really do. I’m still a little freaked.

We pass through the boarding gate and find our seats on the plane. The plane is spacious, yet intimidating. Parker sits at the window seat while I am seated in the middle of him and Aunt Becca. Silently, I’m thankful I don’t have the window seat.

A voice comes over the intercom, instructing us to turn our electronics off until the plane is in the air. I shuffle in my seat, taking a deep breath followed by another as the plane begins to descend the runway.

“Just relax. You will be fine,” Parker says, keeping eye contact with me. His pools of blue calm me, while my aunt pats my leg. Before I even realize it, the plane is already in the air. It hardly feels like we are moving.

A stewardess approaches us with a greeting, asking if we want anything to drink. And the first thing that comes to mind is an alcoholic beverage to take the edge off.

“I’ll take a scotch on the rocks, and she’ll have the same,” Parker says.

“Honey, I’ll just take a martini,” my aunt says.

I watch as the stewardess takes other orders as she goes down the aisles. The plane is fairly crowded and the noise level is rising. Our drinks arrive just as I start to relax.